You know what, sometimes life throws you some curve balls.
The last time I updated my food blog I was living in Lubbock and just looking for my first teaching job.
SOOOOOOO much has changed since then, and I am finally ready to start sharing
my foodie life with y’all again!
For those of you that had no idea I even had a cooking blog,
well, that isn’t surprising at all. For those of you that were around the first
time, I hope you will excuse my absence. I am happy to say that I have been
thinking about ‘Manda’s Menu Musings’ quite a lot recently and it was something
I couldn’t shake. I kept promising myself that I would pick the blog back up
after grad school, but that just didn’t seem to be enough. I dreamed of recipes
I wanted to write about, I found myself helping all of my friends with their
cooking questions, and my fiancé has heard me talk about this project for
months now.
So, I am very pleased to say Manda’s Menu Musings is back
and is going through a major over haul! Thanks for coming on this journey with
me as I start to document my life again!
Today’s recipe actually forced me to pick the blog up a
little earlier than I had even planned (thanks for that Ryan!) I posted this picture to my Facebook and got lots of positive feedback,
and requests for the recipe. I have done a few caramel frostings before, so I
really just did this by guessing. It was delicious, even though I wish I had
mixed more caramel in. (Don’t worry, I have already adjusted the recipe for
y’all.)
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| Is your mouth watering yet? |
I hope y’all enjoy this boozy treat!
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Bourbon Caramel Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp Bourbon (personally, I like Makers Mark, and of course, I used a little extra, because I’m from Kentucky and everything)
To prepare the caramel, using the thickest bottom pot you
have, mix the sugar and water and swirl around in pan. It’s important to
remember NEVER USE A SPOON AT THIS STEP!!!!! Over medium heat let this mixture
disintegrate, bubble, boil, and come to an amber color. This will probably be
about 15 minutes. It’s important to not let this burn. Watch very carefully.
When you see the amber color pull it off the heat, and grab
your spoon. Very slowly stir in the heavy cream, making sure to never stop
stirring. Finish by stirring in the bourbon. And viola! You have it! Feel free
to eat a spoonful now, because heaven knows I did!
Buttercream Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar (plus some extra just in case you need it post caramel)
- Heavy cream
This is my basic butter cream recipe I grew up making with
my mom. Pretty much anytime I make icing this is the base I will start with.
Why change something that works so well. The more I blog the more you will see
variations of this same buttercream recipe.
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| Yeah, I'm using the paddle. Do as I say and not as I do! |
Slowly beat in the 4 cups of powdered sugar. In between the
3rd and 4th cup you will probably start to notice that it
looks dry, add in a tablespoon or two of your heavy cream. To help it
incorporate.
If you are using a stand mixer switch over from your paddle
mixing attachment to your whipping attachment. Add in up to half of your
bourbon caramel and whip until it is incorporated and fluffy. When I was making
this the other night I only made half a batch of the caramel and so this is
where I stopped. You can add more caramel to your taste specifications, but be
prepared to add some extra powdered sugar and cream.
And that’s it! You have some delicious frosting to put on
top of any cup cake, cake, or let’s be honest, to just eat with a spoon!
It’s great to be back guys! I hope you will have me!
